London, July 7 -- Ten years after China launched a sweeping crackdown on human rights lawyers, international rights groups led by Amnesty International are urging immediate global action to hold the Chinese government accountable for a decade of ongoing repression.

According to a recent report by Amnesty International, the crackdown, known as the "709" incident, which began on July 9, 2015, led to the detention or disappearance of over 300 lawyers and activists. Many faced torture, imprisonment on false charges, or were held in secret detention centers, a practice the United Nations has labelled enforced disappearance.

"These individuals were punished for doing their jobs--defending clients and standing up for justice. A decade later, t...